


Lay down all thought surrender to the void

by orphan_account



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-20
Updated: 2012-02-20
Packaged: 2017-10-31 12:16:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/343962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Roxy publishes a new chapter of her wizard fanfic, she likes to stick around for a while, refresh the page and watch the reviews appear.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lay down all thought surrender to the void

**Author's Note:**

> The title and last sentence is from the Beatles song Tomorrow Never Knows.  
> As always, any feedback at all is greatly appreciated! I really kind of want to continue this story, but I'm not sure how good it is, so don't hold your breath, I guess?

When Roxy publishes a new chapter of her wizard fanfic, she likes to stick around for a while, refresh the page and watch the reviews appear. She is sitting cross-legged in the chair in front of her computer, Frigglish curled up in her lap, quiet and still for once. The martini glass on the desk is filled with apple juice for the time being. She lifts it up carefully, takes a small sip. Puts the glass back down at a careful distance from her computer.

It’s already getting dark outside, the trees and the clouds a blur of dark gray. It started snowing earlier, when Roxy was walking home from school, but it has stopped now. It will probably rain again later. For now the world out there is strangely quiet, apart from the occasional gust of wind. It’s early December, and her desk is already adorned with a small Santa statue Dirk sent her. To keep her company, he said.

She has just updated her FreshFicz.net profile to add the fourteenth chapter of _wherein frigglish + zazzerpan habve to og on a magicial journey togethar A K A WIZARD SLASH <3<3<3z3!!!,_ a multi-chapter epic about the gently blossoming flower that is the relationship between Zazzerpan and Frigglish the human wizard. Sometimes while she writes, she imagines Frigglish the cat in his place and giggles to herself.

In the fourteenth chapter of _wherein frigglish + zazzerpan habve to og on a magicial journey togethar A K A WIZARD SLASH <3<3<3z3!!!_, Frigglish and Zazzerpan are attacked by a vicious wolf as they’re walking across the mountains to the city of Altermajaria. A wolf, of course, is no match for two distinguished wizards such as Frigglish and Zazzerpan the Learned, but before they can conjure up some magical thingamajyg of light and heat to scare it off, the wolf bites Zazzerpan’s leg, and Frigglish has to carry him to safety in a cave nearby. There, Frigglish bandages Zazzerpan’s leg in a faintly homoerotic manner, and the two wizards discuss the recent happenis. Happenins. Was the wolf sent by someone? And if it was, why? It’s a mystery. The chapter ends on a hopeful note, with the men falling asleep next to each other on the floor of the cave, huddled together for wramht. Wamrth. Warmth. They use their snazzy wizard hats as pillows.

Roxy pulls out one foot from under the other and sets it on the floor without unsteadying Frigglish the cat, trying to get comfortable. Thanks to a combination of effective heating and a dangerous amount of electronics, her room is warm as a summer day. The rest of the house is always cold and dark, but she doesn’t mind. She doesn’t have to go anywhere except the lab and the bathroom. She has kicked off her shoes and pulled off her skirt, and is wearing only black tights and her beloved mutant cat t-shirt. She takes another sip of apple juice before pressing F5 again, and sure enough, the chapter has gotten two reviews already.

One is from gastrellsParamour, who Roxy talks to on Pesterchum sometimes. She usually only bothers with her when Jane and Jake and Dirk are all asleep or at school or busy with robot wrestling, but it’s nice to have someone to chat with about Complacency of the Learned. It’s nice to have someone.

gastrellsParamour thinks this chapter is soooo cuuuute, and she can’t wait for the next one, she writes - ending with a text heart. Roxy makes a mental note to thank her later. gastrellsParamour has been bugging her about going to WizardCon in Miami in February, and she is almost tempted to say yes, if only to get away from the cold and the dark for a while. Maybe she could somehow drop by Houston; meet up with Dirk. 

The second comment is a little more interesting. It is from tactileTempest, who Roxy first assumed to be Dirk, both because of the alliterative name and because of the strikingly similar writing style and fondness for grammar and long-ass words. She had been kind of flattered, really, that Dirk wanted to read her shitty fanfics. Not even Janey wanted to read her writerly exploits these days, and Dirk still pretended not to have read CotL. He had better things to broccupy his time with, he once said. She had told him that was the shittiest fucking bropun she had ever seen.

But with time Roxy has realized that this TT isn’t Dirk typing in lavender, as totally awesome as that would be, but someone else entirely. Someone who is smart as hell, and who knows a fuckton about CotL. Their reviews are always several paragraphs long, thorough, insightful  and curious – much more so than Roxy’s stories really deserve, if she’s being honest with herself.

tactileTempest has never once corrected her spelling errors, but can go on and on about the psychological implications of something Zazzerpan said or did.

Often they ask questions about Roxy’s interpretation of characters or events in the books, or ask for clarification about something in the fic. Roxy always writes lengthy replies that the other then answers to. She has several times expressed that it would be more convenient to talk on pesterchum or a similar chat client, but tactileTempest has always declined.

Roxy lifts Frigglish the cat from her lap, and places him gently on the floor in front of her, half under her desk. She stands up and walks over to her bed, crawls into it to let in a little air. It’s dark outside now, she can barely see the contours of the big tree outside her window. She returns to her desk and her chair, pulling up her legs so she can rest her chin on her tights-clad knees.

She reads.

_Dear tipsyGnostalgic,_

_First of all, I must congratulate you on having written another excellent chapter of fan prose.  I am certain that all present and future readers will enjoy it as immensely as I have. Though your style in prose is somewhat unorthodox, your stories are entertaining and your ideas (both in your own writing and in discussion of the source material) fascinating, and I have come to very much enjoy reading your works. I am sure I have told you this before.  As I am presently in a bit of a hurry, this review will not be as long as some of my earlier evaluations of your work, for which I am sure you are thankful._

_I found this chapter, the fourteenth, especially fascinating in several respects. First of all, I would love to hear your reasoning behind using the wolf as an attacker of Frigglish and Zazzerpan, although I realize that an explanation of your motives may tell me more than I, the reader, should know about future events; in which case I am content to wait until the right moment. It is, as you say, a mystery._

_Furthermore, I particularly enjoyed Frigglish and Zazzerpan’s discussion of the events of the story so far, and their desperate search for truth and a better understanding and clearer view of their own lives and destinies, as evidenced by the dialogue in paragraphs 23-24. I think this is particularly interesting in light of the last pages of chapter VI of the source material, and I would love to hear your interpretation. I also think that you would enjoy looking into some more scholarly works on this topic - just say the word, and I will recommend you something suitable. As always, I would love to hear your opinion. I very much enjoy all our conversations._

_Lastly – and I realize that this might sound a bit strange – I am increasingly grateful for your strangely informative author’s notes, where you write briefly about what you have been up to since the last update. Having read and enjoyed your stories for a while, I almost feel like I know you, and I want you to know I have come to care deeply for you, tipsyGnostalgic. Sometimes I wish I could meet you and discuss these things in person. However, I fear that is currently impossible, so reading your fanworks and replies to my humble reviews will simply have to do for now._

_I may return later with more insights.  
Until then,  
  
tactileTempest_

It has started to rain. Roxy sits in the dark for a while, looking at the computer screen.

It is shining. 


End file.
